How to Search Venango County Traffic Court Records
Traffic cases in Venango County are handled primarily through Magisterial District Courts. The county's District Judges page says district judges may accept pleas, conduct full hearings, and sentence in summary matters, including traffic violations and game or fish law violations. UJS public docket sheets and PAeDocket are the main court lookup tools for docket information. PAePay is a payment tool, not the complete court case file.
Search with the citation number, docket number, person name, court, county, or another identifier when available. PAeDocket also supports case number, participant name, organization name, offense tracking number, police incident or complaint number, and state ID number. Recent court entries may not appear immediately, and public docket sheets should not be used as criminal-history background checks.
- Open the UJS public case search at ujsportal.pacourts.us/casesearch or use PAeDocket.
- Choose the Magisterial District Court path for traffic citations, summary cases, and many lower-court matters.
- Search by citation, docket number, person name, OTN, complaint number, or other known identifier.
- Review the docket for court, charge, plea, hearing, disposition, fine, cost, and payment information.
- Use PAePay only when the case is eligible for online payment or costs are due after disposition.
The official PAePay traffic ticket and court costs portal is the statewide online payment path for eligible traffic tickets and court costs.
PAePay is useful after a citation is identified, but a payment screen should not be treated as the complete docket sheet.
Which Courts Handle Traffic Cases in Venango County
Venango County has three active Magisterial District Courts listed in the current county research. These courts handle traffic citations, non-traffic summary citations, preliminary arraignments and preliminary hearings in criminal matters, landlord-tenant cases, and small civil claims within their jurisdiction. More serious criminal cases can move to the Court of Common Pleas after the district court stage.
| Court | Traffic Cases Handled | Address / Phone |
|---|---|---|
| District 28-3-01, Judge Andrew F. Fish | Traffic and summary matters within the district | 1052 Grandview Road, 911 Center, Oil City, PA 16301; 814-670-0339 |
| District 28-3-03, Judge Kevin Saragian | Traffic and summary matters within the district | 217 Thirteenth Street, Franklin, PA 16323; 814-432-3621 |
| District 28-3-04, Judge Patrick Lowrey | Traffic and summary matters within the district | 3512 State Route 257, Suite 106, P.O. Box 553, Seneca, PA 16346; 814-676-5421 |
Types of Traffic Cases on Record
Traffic records can include citations that are paid, contested, dismissed, disposed, appealed, or connected to payment-plan activity. The research identifies traffic violations, non-traffic summary matters, summary appeals, criminal payment plans, and first-offense second-degree misdemeanor DUI matters that may be handled at the district justice level in limited circumstances.
- Moving violations - Citations tied to driving conduct and possible PennDOT reporting.
- Non-moving or equipment citations - Summary matters that may still appear on an MDJ docket or PAePay balance.
- Game or fish law violations - Summary matters district judges may hear and sentence.
- Summary appeals - Appeals from traffic and non-traffic summary dispositions, with a local filing fee listed in the Prothonotary/Clerk fee schedule.
- DUI-related matters - Some early or limited matters may appear at the MDJ level, while full DUI prosecution may become a criminal case.
What Venango County Traffic Court Records Show
A traffic court record is a court case record. It may show the citation, docket, court location, charging statute, plea, hearing activity, disposition, financial obligations, and payment status. It may also show failure-to-appear or warrant-related events if those events are docketed. It does not replace the PennDOT driver-history file.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Citation or docket number | The court identifier used to search or pay the case. |
| Magisterial District Court | The issuing or hearing court, district number, address, and judicial officer where listed. |
| Defendant / participant | The person named in the citation or docket. |
| Charge / statute | The traffic, summary, or related offense and legal section if shown. |
| Plea and hearing events | Guilty plea, not-guilty hearing activity, continuances, or other docket events. |
| Disposition | Outcome such as guilty, dismissed, withdrawn, disposed, or appealed when available. |
| Financial obligations | Fine, costs, restitution, payment-plan balance, or PAePay-eligible amount. |
| Warrant / FTA indicators | Failure-to-appear or bench-warrant information when entered on the docket. |
PAePay Search Fields
PAePay TTCC covers Traffic, Non-Traffic, Summary, Summary Appeal, and Criminal cases or payment plans. It can search by docket number or person in UJS help examples, and the portal may vary by payment path. A person who only wants case history should search UJS first; a person ready to pay an eligible balance can move to PAePay.
| Search Field | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search By | Dropdown | Yes | Docket Number or Person shown in UJS help examples. |
| Docket / citation / case number | Text | Conditional | Use when searching by a known case identifier. |
| Person name | Text | Conditional | May return multiple matches; narrow by county or court if available. |
| Court / county | Dropdown or filter | Optional or unspecified | Use Venango County or the correct MDJ court when the interface allows. |
| Cart | Action | Not applicable | PAePay uses a shopping-cart flow for selected payable items. |
| Payment fields | Card fields | Required to pay | Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, or ATM card. |
| Confirmation | Confirmation page | Not applicable | Transaction is complete after payment and confirmation number appear. |
The UJS PAePay traffic ticket and court costs help page explains the TTCC payment flow.
The help page is important because it states the guilty-plea consequence for online traffic citation payment.
Paying or Contesting a Venango County Traffic Ticket
Venango County's online payments page links court fines and costs to PAePay. PAePay allows secure online payment of traffic tickets, court costs, fines, or restitution for Pennsylvania Common Pleas and Magisterial District Courts. UJS says online payments may be made with Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, or ATM card, and a non-refundable 2.75% service fee is assessed.
Payment choice matters. UJS help says that to pay a traffic citation online, the user must plead guilty during the online payment process. If the person pleads not guilty, the person must attend a hearing and cannot use PAePay to resolve the citation before the case is fully disposed. After disposition, PAePay may still be relevant for costs, fines, restitution, or payment-plan balances.
- Read the citation and identify the Magisterial District Court.
- Search UJS or PAeDocket by citation, docket, or person to confirm the case.
- If pleading guilty and eligible to pay online, use PAePay and account for the 2.75% service fee.
- If pleading not guilty, follow the citation and court instructions and appear for the hearing.
- For summary appeal, use the Prothonotary/Clerk process; the current fee schedule lists summary appeal, traffic and non-traffic, at $55.
- For missed hearings or missed payments, contact the MDJ court promptly because a bench warrant, payment-plan problem, or license consequence may exist.
The county's online payments page confirms PAePay as the local court fines and costs payment link.
The local payment page confirms PAePay is county-endorsed for court fines and costs while still using the statewide judiciary portal.
Public Access Laws for Traffic Court Records
Traffic dockets are court case records, so Pennsylvania's court public-access policy is central. County agency records follow the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law when requested from an agency open-records officer, but court case records are governed by judiciary access rules and filing-office procedures. For Venango County, traffic citations are generally MDJ records, and certified or older records may require the issuing court or the Clerk of Courts when the matter reaches Common Pleas.
Key Authorities:
204 Pa. Code § 213.81 - Pennsylvania court case records are governed by the Case Records Public Access Policy.
Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law, Act 3 of 2008 - County agency records use designated open-records procedures unless an exemption applies.
Court Traffic Records vs State Driver Records
The court traffic record and PennDOT driver record are different records. The court file explains what happened in the citation case. The driver record explains what PennDOT maintains for licensing, convictions reported by police or courts, points, suspension status, and related driver-history matters.
| Record Type | Source | What It Shows | How to Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court Traffic Record | UJS, PAePay, MDJ court, or court office | Citation, charge, court, plea, hearing, disposition, fine, costs, payment status, and warrant or failure-to-appear indicators if docketed. | Search UJS or PAeDocket, contact the MDJ court, or use PAePay for eligible payments. |
| PennDOT Driver Record | PennDOT Bureau of Driver Licensing | Driver history, offenses and convictions reported by police or courts, license status, points, and suspensions as applicable. | Use PennDOT Individual Driver Records online, or use Form DL-503 in person or by mail for certified records. |
PennDOT Driver History Requests
PennDOT's online driver-record service allows Pennsylvania drivers to download and print a driver record after a successful order. The driver manual says users need a driver's license number, date of birth, last four digits of Social Security number, and credit card information. The driver-history FAQ says certified driver's records cannot be requested online; certified records must be requested in person or by mailing the Request for Driver Information, Form DL-503.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver's license number | Text | Yes | Required for the online driver record order. |
| Date of birth | Date | Yes | Required identity field. |
| Last four digits of SSN | Text | Yes | Required for online access. |
| Credit card information | Payment | Yes | Required to order online. |
| Adobe Reader / system requirements | Notice | Not applicable | Needed to view and print the record. |
CDL and Commercial Driver Records
Commercial drivers should treat a traffic docket and driver record as a two-part review. The court docket shows the citation case and payment or hearing path. PennDOT and other licensing rules determine what is reported to the driver history and whether the violation affects license status or commercial driving privileges. The research does not identify a Venango-only CDL diversion or special traffic program, so CDL drivers should verify consequences with PennDOT, counsel, or the issuing court before entering a plea.
DUI Cases and Traffic Records
DUI is not simply a routine traffic ticket record. The Venango County District Judges page says district judges may accept pleas and sentence in first-offense, second-degree misdemeanor DUI charges in limited circumstances, but DUI matters also involve criminal docketing, prosecution, bail, and possible Common Pleas activity. Search the MDJ docket first when the citation or complaint is new, then check the Court of Common Pleas criminal docket if the case is bound over or filed there.
For charge-level context after an arrest, see Venango County arrest records and charges.
ARD, Payment Plans, and Summary Appeals
The research does not document a Venango County defensive-driving dismissal program or a generic deferred adjudication option for traffic citations. It does document ARD and Problem Solving Court in criminal/supervision contexts, which should not be assumed to apply to ordinary traffic citations. For payment plans, PAePay may show eligible balances after a case or payment plan is in the system. For appeals, the current local fee schedule lists summary appeal, traffic and non-traffic, at $55.
Sealing or Expunging Traffic Records
Expungement and limited access depend on Pennsylvania law and the case type. The Prothonotary/Clerk fee schedule lists expungement at $132 as of January 2026, but that fee listing does not mean every traffic or summary record is eligible. Sealed, expunged, juvenile, and limited-access records are not ordinary public lookup results. A person seeking expungement should identify the docket number, citation or OTN if applicable, offense date, disposition, and legal basis before contacting the filing office or counsel.
Fees for Traffic Records and Payments
Traffic costs can include court fines and costs, online payment service fees, summary appeal filing fees, and copy or research charges. Venango County's current Prothonotary/Clerk fee schedule lists research, civil-criminal, at $12 and copies at $0.25 per page. It also lists summary appeal, traffic and non-traffic, at $55. PAePay assesses a non-refundable 2.75% service fee for online payments.
| Item | Amount / Note |
|---|---|
| PAePay service fee | 2.75% non-refundable service fee. |
| Summary appeal, traffic and non-traffic | $55. |
| Research, civil-criminal | $12. |
| Copies per page | $0.25. |
| Certified driver record | Not requested online; use PennDOT Form DL-503 in person or by mail. |
The UJS Pay Online page describes accepted cards and the PAePay service fee.
The payment-fee detail belongs with traffic records because a user may find the case through the court docket but complete payment through PAePay.